Emily Carter
If your chicken is being broody, it means she thinks she's going to be a mother. She will collect eggs, sit on them, and turn them, and may become aggressive towards anyone who tries to get in her way. This is a natural instinct for hens, but it can be detrimental to their health if they are not actually hatching eggs. If you're not planning to let your chicken have chicks, there are several things you can do to break her broodiness. One method is to gently remove her from the nest and put her outside with the rest of her flock. You can also try blocking off the nest box she has been using or setting up a broody breaker cage with a wire bottom to discourage nesting and promote airflow to cool her down.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Behaviour | Moody, aggressive, refusing to eat, staying cooped up all day, protecting her nest, giving nasty looks and pecks to anyone who may try and get in her way |
| Solution | Remove her from the nesting box and collect her eggs regularly, put her outside with the rest of her flock, place her in a cage with a wire bottom, put her in a cold water bath |
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What You'll Learn
Move the chicken from the nesting box and collect her eggs regularly
If your chicken has gone broody, it means that she thinks she's going to be a mother. You will find her collecting eggs, sitting on them to keep them warm, and turning them. She may also become aggressive and refuse to eat. This behaviour can be detrimental to her health as she will lose feathers and weight and also stop laying eggs.
One way to stop a broody hen is to move her from the nesting box and collect her eggs regularly. This method can be challenging if your hen is particularly stubborn and reluctant to move. She may try to return to the nest box immediately after being removed. Persistence and consistency are key. By collecting the eggs throughout the day, you'll discourage her from settling on them.
You can also try luring her with treats to get her to move about and leave the nesting box. Additionally, blocking off the entrance to the nesting box can prevent her from returning. If she continues to be broody, you can place her in a cage with a wire bottom, which will help cool her down and reduce her broodiness.
Broodiness is a natural behaviour for hens, but if you're not hatching chicks, it's important to break this cycle to preserve her health.
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Put the chicken in a wire cage with no bedding to cool her down
If your chicken is broody, it means that she thinks she's going to be a mother. You will find her collecting eggs, sitting on them, turning them, and protecting them from any potential threats. While this is completely natural behaviour for hens, it is not always convenient for the chicken keeper or healthy for the hen. If you don't have hatching eggs or baby chicks for the hen to tend to, it is best to break her of her broodiness.
One way to do this is by putting the chicken in a wire cage with no bedding to cool her down. This method is sometimes referred to as a "broody breaker" or "chicken jail". The wire bottom of the cage provides airflow to the hen's breast, helping to cool her down and reduce her broodiness. The cage should be placed in a cool location and include food and water.
The idea is to make the hen uncomfortable so that she will cool down and reduce her broodiness. Three days is usually enough time, but it may depend on the hen. You will know when your hen is no longer broody when she no longer fluffs her feathers out and she doesn't hurry to the nest.
It is important to note that broodiness can be detrimental to a hen's health. A broody hen will eat and drink less, causing her to lose weight and become dehydrated. Additionally, hens may pluck their own feathers to build their nests, which can lead to further health issues. Therefore, it is important to take steps to break a broody hen and preserve her health.
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Try a cold water bath
If your chicken is being broody, one method to break the cycle is to try a cold-water bath. This method works by cooling down the chicken's body temperature, which helps to reduce the broody hormones running through her body.
To do this, fill a sink or wash tub with a few inches of cold water. You can also use refreshingly cool water if you live in a place with very cold tap water. Ensure there is enough water to cover the chicken's chest when she sits in the bath. Then, gently lower the chicken into the water. You can also try placing ice cubes on her chest and vent area to achieve a similar cooling effect.
Some people also recommend placing the chicken in a wire-bottomed cage or dog crate in a cool location to help cool down her body temperature. This method can be used in conjunction with the cold-water bath to further encourage the broody chicken to break her cycle.
It is important to note that breaking a broody chicken's cycle may take some time and persistence. It is also crucial to provide food and water to the chicken, regardless of the method used.
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Introduce new chickens
If you are introducing new chickens to the flock, early to mid-summer is the ideal time to do it. This is when most chickens go broody, and you can use this to your advantage. Here are some tips to help you introduce new chickens when you have a broody hen:
Prepare the Broody Hen
First, ensure the broody hen's nest is in a safe place for baby chicks, such as a dog crate or cage on the floor of the coop. Give her some time to get used to the new surroundings by placing dummy eggs in her nest to encourage her broodiness. You can also try giving her fertile eggs to hatch, which can be bought from a feed store or online.
Introduce the Chicks
Buy day-old chicks, as younger chicks are more readily accepted by a broody hen. Slip the baby chicks under the mother hen in the evening hours when it's somewhat dark, but ensure you have enough light to monitor the situation. Present each chick to the hen, letting her see and hear it. Tuck the chicks gently under the hen one at a time, and she should cluck excitedly and use her beak to push the chick further underneath. Take away an egg for each chick you add, and stick around to ensure she has accepted them all.
Monitor the Flock
Keep a close eye on the chicks and hen for the first few hours, and provide a safe space for the mother hen to concentrate on keeping the chicks warm and fed without worrying about the other chickens. As the chicks grow, you may need to move them to a larger pen or coop, and you can raise the feeder and waterer as they grow. The mother hen will care for her chicks until they grow their first set of adult feathers, and as they become more independent, she will gradually switch to being a guardian.
Reintegrate the Hen
Once the hen has finished raising the chicks, she will want to rejoin her flock. You can wait until the chicks are old enough to join the flock, or you can let the mother hen rejoin the flock early and continue to raise the chicks yourself. Reintegration may be needed whenever introducing young chickens or a mother hen who has been away from the flock for a while.
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Lock the chicken out of the coop
If your chicken is being broody, you can try locking it out of the coop. Here are some detailed steps to do this effectively:
Firstly, it is important to identify if your chicken is indeed broody. A broody chicken will display certain behaviours such as staying in her favourite nest box, acting moody or aggressive, refusing to eat, and staying cooped up all day. If you notice these signs, your chicken is likely broody and can be locked out of the coop to discourage this behaviour.
Before locking your chicken out, try some preliminary methods to break its broodiness. Collect eggs frequently to remove the broody hen's "clutch." By picking up eggs throughout the day, you can discourage her from settling on them. Gently remove the hen from the nesting area and place her in a different spot, as broody hens can get stiff from sitting in one place.
Now, you can implement the locking-out method. Wait until your other chickens have already laid their eggs for the day, and then lock your broody chicken out of the coop. She may pace outside the door, demanding to be let back in, or she may find a comfortable makeshift nest outside and ignore her flockmates. If possible, lure her with treats from the garden to encourage movement and distract her from nesting.
Before sunset, unlock the coop to allow the flock to roost for the night. The broody hen may try to return to the egg box. If this happens, transfer her onto the roost. By nighttime, it will likely be dark enough that she won't be able to find her way back to the egg box.
Repeat this process as needed. You may find that your chicken returns to her normal self after a few days. However, some chickens may require more time and persistence to break their broodiness.
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Frequently asked questions
A broody chicken thinks she's going to be a mother. She will collect eggs, sit on them to keep them warm, and turn them. She will also eat, drink and defecate less, which can be detrimental to her health.
Your chicken will be protective of her nest and may act moody or aggressive if you try to disturb her. She will ruffle her feathers and squawk, and may even peck you. She may also pluck her own feathers to build her nest.
You can try to cool her down, as this will reduce her broodiness. You can do this by gently removing her from the nesting box and placing her outside with the rest of her flock. You can also try placing her in a cage with a wire bottom, which will help get airflow to her breast.
